BUILDING WITH A VIEW: The view from luxury apartments on Georgia Highway 20 toward CoolRay Field is a pleasant one. Roving Photographer Frank Sharp writes: “ I have always wondered how CoolRay Field would look from the new apartment building overlooking the field. I was able to set up my tripod on the fourth floor balcony. I had hoped to see the Mall of Georgia and Interstate-85 from such a high vantage point, but no such luck – too many trees. These photos were made with a Canon EOS 60D set at F-11. There seemed to be many people already living in the apartments. They all seemed to be young professionals. I guess it being next door to the Mall of Georgia and I-85 are big magnets.”
IN THIS EDITION
TODAY’S FOCUS: Brenau in Gainesville Hosts Summer Songwriters Series Tonight
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Surprises, Along with Politics and Origin of Duluth Name
FEEDBACK: More on Term Limits and Georgia Transportation
UPCOMING: Second Criterium Bicycle Racing Coming to Duluth July 18
NOTABLE: County To Refurbish South Gwinnett Park; Bridge Work Awarded
RECOMMENDED READ: Puddn’Head Wilson by Mark Twain
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Horticulture Is Increasing Beneficial to Georgia Farmers
TODAY’S QUOTE: Thomas Edison on Modern Medicine
MYSTERY PHOTO: Not Much of a Clue in This Edition’s Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Daisy Troop 3031 Help with Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful
TODAY’S FOCUS
Summer Songwriters Series kicks off tonight in Gainesville at Brenau
By David Morrison
GAINESVILLE, Ga., July 10, 2015 – The John Jarrard Foundation’s Summer Songwriters Series kicks off its 2015 showcase today (Friday, July 10) with performances by Nashville award-winning country songwriters Chuck Jones and Ed Hill in the Theatre on the Square at Brenau University’s Downtown Center, located at 301 Main St. in Gainesville
The show begins at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 each and are available by calling 770-710-9191 or purchasing online.
Jody Jackson, executive director of the John Jarrard Foundation says: “As the TV show Nashville has made the Bluebird Cafe so popular in the last couple of years, we are so fortunate to bring the same guys that appear there right here to Gainesville, performing hit song after hit song.”
However, the informal performances in the intimate venue enable the artists to interact with the audience conversationally, putting out music industry insider info and spinning yarns about how some of the songs happened.
Jackson adds: “Everyone loves to hear the stories behind the songs. It’s magical.”
Jones, at left; Hill at right.
Chuck Jones, from Memphis, Tenn., has had more than 140 songs recorded, including multiple top-10 singles, and various other charting singles on country and pop radio. He recently started his own publishing company, Jonesin’ For A Hit LLC. He resides in Nashville with his wife, Becky Pommer Jones, and their daughter, Savannah Grace.
Ed Hill, a Hanford, Calif. native, has won four Nashville Songwriters Association International Awards for his works. He also has a recent No. 1 country song, “Drinkin’ Class” by Lee Brice. Since the early 1970s, Hill has played piano and keyboard, and has backed artists like Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Marty Robbins and Willie Nelson. In 1980, he won a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Orange Blossom Special/Hoedown.” In 2012, Hill was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Country Song category for “Just Fishin’,” written with Casey Beathard and Monty Criswell.
Founded in 2000, the John Jarrard Foundation honors the memory of the Gainesville native and pre-eminent country music songwriter who penned dozens of hit songs, including twelve No. 1 country hits. He battled diabetes before his death in 2001. Jarrard was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2011.
Over the past 13 years, the John Jarrard Foundation has grown from an annual concert to a regionally recognized organization supporting songwriters and many causes, with the proceeds going to a permanent endowment fund in Jarrard’s name established at the North Georgia Community Foundation. Proceeds benefit local charities, including the Good News Clinics, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County, Georgia Mountain Food Bank Fund, and one of John’s favorite causes, Good News at Noon Shelter.
The final performance in the summer series will be Aug. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Brenau Downtown Center. It will feature Jason Matthews and Kerry Kurt Phillips. Tickets are $20 per person for each show.
The organization’s largest concert of the year, the 14th annual John Jarrard Foundation Concert, will be Saturday, Sept. 12, on the front lawn at Brenau University.
- For more information, visit www.johnjarrardfoundation.com.
Couple of big surprises, politics and where Duluth’s name came from
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
JULY 10, 2015 | “Surprise, surprise, surprise,” as Gomer Pyle often said.
The new principal owner of the Atlanta Hawks says that he wants a new play pen (read new arena) for his professional basketball team.
Our first thoughts are simple. “Good, Tony Ressler. Find some private money to pay for it.”
Mr. Ressler, 55, is a Californian who founded Apollo Global Management after the collapse of Drexel Burnham, Lambert. Mr. Ressler has previously belonged to a group which purchased the Milwaukee Brewers. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds a MBA degree from Columbia University.
Among his partners in the Atlanta Hawks purchase is Grant Hill, 1994 ACC player of the year from Duke University and after 19 years in the NBA, retired from the professional ranks. He’s now a television basketball analyst.
We liked having last year’s improving Hawks around, but what with so many trades, who says they’ll do better next year?
As to a new arena, however, we suspect the over-anxious Atlanta city officials are falling all over themselves to come up with public money for a new basketball arena. That, too, is another big surprise.
Gwinnett has many distinctions. However, it’s been missing one: we’ve never had a Gwinnett-based governor of Georgia. Closest we’ve come in recent years is that George Busbee, once out of office, chose to build a home in Duluth. He’s also the only Georgia governor buried in Gwinnett.
But on the horizon: maybe there’s hope. Senator David Shafer keeps moving up the GOP ladder, now as president pro tempore of the Georgia Senate, the number two position. He’s our most likely candidate right now, though to gain the office, he would have to go up against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. He probably could beat Cagle for the nomination, reasoning that the state’s largest Republican vote is in Gwinnett.
It’s common knowledge in Gwinnett that the City of Duluth was named for that same-named city in Minnesota. But where did the Minnesota city its name?
Garrison Keillor gave us the answer recently. He writes:
“On July 2 in 1679, Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, first reached Lake Superior, about where the city that bears his name – Duluth – now lies. He was a French soldier and explorer, and had visited Montreal on several occasions. In 1675, he bought a house there, and started thinking about making a trip to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. He became friends with the Sioux Indians, and in 1678 he set out with seven French followers and three Indian slaves, intending to broker a peace agreement between the Sioux and the Ojibwe Indians north and west of Lake Superior, and firm up the tribes’ fur trading relationship with New France. He negotiated the peace treaty, arranged some inter-tribal marriages, and encouraged the tribes to hunt together, before moving west to explore the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers”
Now you know.
After proposing term limits in the last edition, one guy’s concern: “Term limits would mean that the bureaucrats would be in charge.” There’s something to that. But in a way, the continuing-to-get elected professional politicians amount to bureaucrats in themselves. At least we would get rid of that half of the total bureaucrats with term limits.
IN THE SPOTLIGHTGwinnett Village Community Improvement District
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. The Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District was formed in 2006, and is a self taxing revitalization district that includes just over 725 commercial property owners with a property value of over $1 billion dollars. Gwinnett Village CID includes the southwestern part of Gwinnett County including properties along Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Buford Highway, Indian Trail, Beaver Ruin, and Singleton Road. Gwinnett Village is one of four CIDs to be created in Gwinnett County and is the largest of all CIDs in the state. Gwinnett Village’s mission is to improve property values through increased security, a decrease in traffic congestion, and general improvements to the curb appeal of the area.
- For more information visit www.gwinnettvillage.com or call 770-449-6515
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: https://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm.
Suggests running elevated rail system up medians of Interstates
Editor, the Forum:
Why don’t we put an elevated rail system around the median of Interstate 285 and also add this same system to the other interstates? Stations could be located over the expressways. Buses would run from there.
Getting to the Atlanta Braves would be easy for us in Gwinnett County. Drive down to I-285 and get on a train. If they ran a MARTA train up the median of I-85, (and remember the state already owns the land), boy that would make getting around Atlanta a lot easier.
Now you have to find a station located somewhere other than where most people travel (expressways). Try to tell someone how to get to the Doraville, Chamblee or Brookhaven stations if they aren’t familiar with the area? Ha, good luck! I have no idea where the Sandy Springs station is and I live maybe 5 miles from it. I am sure I could find it but, To me, all this makes a lot of sense for this reason: there is no expensive right of way cost to purchase to speak of.
— Steve Jones, Peachtree Corners
Dear Steve: Why can’t government think in this manner? Perhaps it is too obvious. And politicians and engineers don’t always agree. Your idea is an area-wide solution for a real total mass transit system that MARTA and future built systems could connect easily to a circle route around the city. Watch out for thinking logically and trying to apply that to representative government. The two don’t easily meet. -eeb
Gingrich earlier proposed an amendment on term limits
Editor, the Forum:
Term limits? In the Contract with America, Gingrich tried this but was stopped by a vote in the House of Representatives.
His “Citizen Legislature Act” amendment would have imposed 12-year term limits on members of the U.S. Congress (i.e. six terms for Representatives, two terms for Senators). But it was rejected by the U.S. House 227-204 on March 29, 1995. . (A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority, not a simple majority). It is not surprising that the people who would be limited, voted not to be limited.
The Supreme Court did not help either. See this link.
— Alex J. Ortolano, Duluth
Likes ideas presented on transportation in recent Forum
Editor, the Forum:
I don’t know Trish Gates of Lilburn, but I couldn’t have summed up the transportation situation any better than she did in the last issue of GwinnettForum.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is totally wedded to pavement and breaks out in hives whenever anyone mentions anything involving rail transportation.
— Robert Hanson, Loganville
UPCOMINGSecond Georgia Cup Criterium returns to Duluth on July 18
Thrill, speed, adrenaline and excitement will fill the streets of Downtown Duluth when the second annual Georgia Cup-Duluth Criterium returns on July 18. Over 400 cyclists and an estimated 5,000+ spectators will crowd the city.
The Georgia Cup Twilight-Duluth feature some of the top professional and amateur racers in the Southeast region and beyond. The unique feature of this event will be the twilight races for the Pro Women and Men that evening “Under the lights.”
Criterium racing is one of the most common forms of bike racing in America. The criterium, is a multi-lap race of 25-60 miles held on a closed course generally a mile or less in length. These races, which usually last one to two hours, are extremely fast – 30 MPH and up – as the cyclists jockey for position and sprint for lap “primes” (cash or merchandise prizes, pronounced “preems”). The short closed course makes this type of racing easy to watch for spectators and more accessible for the media.
Georgia Cup Twilight Duluth is a two day event this year kicking off in downtown Duluth and then moving to River Green on Sunday! The River Green Criterium will take place from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. on an 0 .6 mile course on River Green Parkway. Sunday also will be a day filled with speed and adrenaline as the final competitors race for the title.
This USA Cycling sanctioned and insured event will start at 3 p.m. and will feature a race for all levels of bike riders. The goal is to encourage family fitness, health, and wellness. The Georgia Cup Duluth Twilight Pro Criterium (Georgia Cup) is more than a professional cycling race. It is a festival of fitness, health, and wellness. During the races, families will benefit from entertainment and fun.
There will be mobile food vendors, live music flowing through the air and a “Chill Zone” where residents can cool down from the summer heat. The night will close with a Summer Stage Concert featuring opening act the HighBeams at 8 p.m. and Vertical Horizon at 9 p.m..
- For additional information, go to www.GeorgiaCup.com or contact: Maggie Waddell at mwaddell@duluthga.net| or by phone at 678-475-3512.
New London Theatre schedules production of Damn Yankees
New London Theatre of Snellville will present the hit musical Damn Yankees, opening July 10 and continuing through July 26. The presentation will mark the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Damn Yankees is being directed by Dawn Berlo with musical direction by Henry Hadden.
Tickets are $12 in advance or $15on the day of the show. Children/students (3-19) and seniors (55+) are always $10.Tickets can be purchased either online through our website or at the theatre box office. Shows are performed at New London Theatre: 2338 Henry Clower Boulevard in Snellville.
- For additional information about this and future performances, auditions, ticket purchases, volunteering, or donations, visit www.newlondontheatre.org, or call 770-559-1484.
Lawrenceville extends deadline for special events and applications
The Lawrenceville City Council has extended the deadline until July 31 for applications for its new special event policy and application process for all events taking place in 2015 and beyond.
The new policy is currently in effect for any of the following requests: use of the Lawrenceville Lawn; road closures due to rental of the Historic Gwinnett County Courthouse grounds; and pre-approved parade routes, 5K or 10K Run/Walk events.
Once the City’s event calendar for the designated time frame has been established, no events will be added or road closures granted. When the next application window opens, events will be accepted for the following calendar year.
NOTABLECounty to refurbish South Gwinnett Park; bridge work awarded
The Gwinnett Board of Commissioners has approved an $8.4 million contract with Multiplex LLC to begin redevelopment of the 23-acre South Gwinnett Park located in the Snellville area. Construction will take more than a year to complete.
The redeveloped park will feature six reconstructed baseball/softball fields; a new artificial-turf field for football, soccer and lacrosse; concession/restroom buildings; a playground; picnic tables; benches; new parking lots; and a redesigned entrance on McGee Road. Existing facilities will be demolished except for the indoor hockey building, which will remain in operation throughout construction.
Previously, the South Gwinnett Athletic Association has run this park.
The project also includes new lighting, reforestation, sewer connection and a prefabricated maintenance building. The multi-purpose field will have bleachers and a press box and the baseball complex includes batting cages, dugouts, fencing, irrigation and shade structures.
Hayes James and Associates Inc. designed the new facilities under an earlier $239,840 contract. Funding comes from the 2009 and 2014 SPLOST programs.
In other action by the Commission recently, seven roadway bridges in Gwinnett will be rehabilitated to extend their useful lives. The bridges are on New Hope Road, Westbrook Road, Alpine Drive, Spanish Oak Drive, River Drive, Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road and Riverside Parkway.
The County contracted with Proshot Concrete Inc. of Florence, Ala. for a low bid of $347,595. Funding comes from the 2009 SPLOST program.
Deadline approaching for Lilburn Daze vendors, sponsors
The Lilburn Daze Arts and Crafts Festival is now accepting vendor applications and sponsorships. There are just a few days left to register to avoid the late fee. August 1 is the deadline for early registration.
This year’s event will be held on October 10 at the Lilburn City Park. Lilburn Daze carries on an over 40 year tradition with over 200 arts and crafts vendors, a variety of food vendors and a kid zone featuring free art activities, a train ride, pony rides and lots of other fun for the children.
With an estimated 12,000 attendees, this family friendly festival is one of the most popular in the area. It is hosted by the Lilburn Woman’s Club and co-sponsored by the City of Lilburn.
- Visit www.lilburndaze.org for more information.
Pudd’nhead Wilson
A novel by Mark Twain
We had never read this simple tale, which might upset some people with its on-target attempts at writing in the black vernacular. Yet the story it
self is a good yarn with the wonderful way that Twain constructs a sentence, making sure it is understood, by writing in a clear style, and sparsely using adjectives. (He prefers adverbs). Somewhat standing back and watching how he writes presents another appreciation of Twain, among USA’s greatest authors. It shows him among those who know understand what they are doing with the English language, in effect, making sure that the story comes across unmistakably. His work is beautiful to follow, constructed in articulate prose, and seemingly done with clarity of mind and purpose. It makes you want to read more Twain. And watch for a surprise ending in this story. – eeb
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. –eeb
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBITHorticulture production second in agriculture only to poultry industry
Horticulture is a significant and expanding component of agriculture in Georgia, ranking second only to the production of poultry. This industry represents production, processing, and marketing of vegetables, fruits, nuts, trees, flowers, and shrubs. Horticulture also includes such service trades as florist shops, landscaping services, and garden centers.
The diversity of horticultural products grown in our state is extensive, given its varied climates and soil types. The cool valleys of the north Georgia mountains are excellent for apples, cabbage, sweet corn, and muscadine grapes.
The long growing season and warm sandy soils of the Coastal Plain in the southern part of the state are ideal for most vegetables and fruits, including tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, and squash. The central Piedmont‘s sloping hills and clay soils are good for in-ground production of ornamental trees and shrubs and for the production of peaches.
Greenhouses and container nurseries have sprung up in almost every county in the state because of greatly increased demand from urban markets. They produce herbs, bedding plants, vegetable transplants, and perennials.
Development of horticultural products has a long history, beginning with the first settlers that came to Georgia. The first colonists depended upon locally grown produce and selected seeds from plants that yielded well. Seeds of vegetable, apple, melon, corn, and squash varieties were handed down generation to generation, shared between families, and maintained. This practice extended through the 1950s, making the culture of vegetables and fruits a staple activity for most rural Georgia families. Many of these original lines, now known as heritage varieties, are still grown by gardeners interested in history or are maintained in breeding programs geared toward developing plants tolerant of Georgia’s climate.
Floriculture, or the science of growing flowers, has had an interesting history since the beginning of the 1800s. During the Victorian era flowering houseplants, indoor terrariums, and extensive perennial gardens became popular. Use of bedding plants such as marigolds became widespread in the late 1940s, after World War II (1941-45). In the 1970s, as interest in the environment grew, houseplants again achieved phenomenal popularity. By the mid-1980s the use of pansies for winter color became so extensive in Atlanta, and later statewide, that it nearly doubled the incomes of most greenhouse owners. Another trend is a return to the use of perennials, and the market now has more than 1,200 cultivars to choose from.
(To be continued)
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Little information in this photo taken of what body of water?
Will this edition’s Mystery Photo be too difficult, since there is no hint in the photo about where the photograph was taken? Some of you may remember this from your travels. Send in your thoughts about the photo to elliott@brack.net, and be sure to include your local address.
The last Mystery Photo was more of a creampuff to many of our readers. The photo was sent in by Lou Camerio of Lilburn. First one in was Bob Foreman of Grayson, saying: “That’s easy. That is the Wilkes County Courthouse in Washington, Georgia.”
Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill writes: “That’s the Confederate soldier monument in front of the Wilkes County (Ga.) Courthouse. It appears to be decked out for July 4th maybe?” Other recognizing the photo were Richard Lux of Trickum, Howard Williams Jr. of Snellville and Ruthy Lachman Paul of Norcross.
LAGNIAPPECleaning up for Gwinnett
Among the groups being honored by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful and its Great American Clean-Up Challenge for 2015 is Daisy Troop 3031 of Duluth. Helping out in their clean up work included Aubrey Rice, Abby Bennett, John Bennett, Jaidyn Castleberry and Taylor Bonifay. More than 5.5 million pounds of recyclables were hauled in during this effort. Groups also planted 248 trees, flowers and plants on this effort.
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